The Philadelphia Flyers know they must be at their best in Game 2 on Monday in Raleigh, N.C. to have any hope of evening their playoff series with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Flyers received plenty of proof what happens when they fall short during Saturday’s 3-0 loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference second-round matchup.
“They were just hungrier than us,” Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier said. “We didn’t win enough 1-on-1 battles. They won the 50/50 races, and that’s what happened. … We just weren’t good enough. It’s that simple. We’ve got to be better.”
Carolina, the Eastern Conference’s top club in the regular season, opened the scoring 91 seconds into the clash. The Canes doubled their lead six minutes later — before the Flyers registered their second shot on goal — and cruised to victory.
By the time the second period was complete, the Hurricanes extended their lead to 3-0 while allowing the Flyers just nine shots on net — none of them during three power-play chances.
In short, Carolina’s relentless play was too much for the Flyers.
“Later on in the game, we found our game a little bit better,” forward Travis Konecny said. “We started to do the things that we had talked about and breaking them down. We just didn’t get to it quick enough. The beauty of it is you got plenty more. So just flush it, regroup, and we know what to expect from them.”
The Hurricanes won three of the four regular-season meetings and have defeated Philadelphia in nine of 10 clashes and 17 of 19 encounters dating back to American Thanksgiving in 2021.
Carolina will try to continue to roll along before the best-of-seven series shifts to the City of Brotherly Love. They remain undefeated this postseason, which makes sense because they have yet to trail in 333 minutes, 53 seconds of play.
“I think everyone’s digging in,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said on Sunday. “It’s what we’ve been trying to do all year. A difference is that our goaltending has been a notch up from what it had been in the regular season. It was fine then and now it’s better.”
The scary part for the Flyers is that, to date, one line has been carrying the load. Logan Stankoven, who scored twice in Game 1, has tallied in all five games and opened the scoring in four of them. His linemates — Jackson Blake and Tyler Hall — also have been chipping in offensively.
Meanwhile, the top line of Andrei Svechnikov (one assist), Sebastian Aho (three goals) and Seth Jarvis (three assists) has been relatively quiet.
“There’s a level they need to get to,” Brind’Amour said. “But I think they’re doing other things that are helping us, too. Obviously your top guys have to score at some point, get on the scoresheet because they’re playing so many minutes, but I do like the intent with which they’re playing.”
It has not been an issue, especially with goaltender Frederik Andersen having posted a 0.90 goals-against average and .961 save percentage with a pair of shutouts. He has surrendered only five goals over five games. In turn, the penalty kill sits at 96%, having surrendered one goal in 25 short-handed situations.
“This time of year brings out the best in people,” said Canes forward Jordan Martinook. “We’re all chasing the big prize.”
